Scouring pad

ABSTRACT

The scouring pad comprises a wad ( 10 ) of looped scouring wire. The wad is constituted by substantially concentric windings of the wire ( 12 ) such that it presents substantially the form of a toroidal ring. The pad has means for holding the windings together, said means comprising at least one binding strap ( 20 ) going around a section of the ring and disposed substantially on a meridian of the torus formed by the ring.

[0001] The present invention relates to a scouring pad comprising a wadof looped scouring wire.

[0002] Scouring pads are known, in particular those made of stainlesssteel wire of thickness lying in the range 0.01 millimeters (mm) to 0.5mm, and preferably being about 0.025 mm. The wire is looped, with theloops being formed, for example, by helically-shaped turns. To form thepad, the wire is rolled up so as to constitute a wad. The loops of thewire catch on one another so as to give the wad a degree of cohesionwhile also conferring a cellular structure thereto (low density). Theloops also form scouring surfaces that are needed to make the padeffective, for example in order to scour utensils such as dishes orpans.

[0003] By way of example, the wire is calendared between two cylinderswhich give it a flat section of given thickness; it is then pulled tightover a sharp edge and, while in this situation, it is moved rapidly soas to form the helical loops, as by a spring effect. Scouring pads ofthat type are very effective for scouring. Nevertheless, after a certainamount of use, the wad tends to come undone, i.e. it tends to lose itsuniformity. The loops that serve for scouring purposes tend to separatefrom one another and to become flattened. As a result the pad loses someof its effectiveness and it is less agreeable to use.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to remedy those drawbacksby proposing a pad of the above-specified type in which the wad retainsits cohesion for longer.

[0005] This object is achieved by the fact that the wad is constitutedby substantially concentric windings of the wire such that said wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring, and by the fact that ithas means for holding said windings relative to one another, said meanscomprising at least one binding strap around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring.

[0006] The wad is thus made in very simple manner and the loops retaintheir primary functions (holding the windings together, cellularstructure, scouring).

[0007] The wire windings are held relative to one another by thepresence of at least one binding strap. The strap extends along ameridian of the torus formed by the ring, i.e. it extends substantiallyradially and it is clamped around a section of the wad that is definedbetween its inner periphery (empty center) and its outer periphery.

[0008] On this section disposed substantially along a meridian, thestrap is placed around the windings of the wire and thus holds themrelative to one another. However, the binding strap is preferably ofsmall extent, and those regions of the wad that are not situated beneaththe strap retain their cellular structure because of the spring effectof the loops against one another, and the effectiveness of the scouringeffect of the wad is not affected in any way by the presence of thebinding strap.

[0009] Beneath the strap, the windings are pressed against one another.Thus, at least in the vicinity of the strap, the windings remainconnected together. The loops have less tendency to flatten andseparate.

[0010] The pad preferably has a plurality of binding straps placedaround a plurality of sections of the ring, which sections are spacedapart at substantially regular intervals.

[0011] The presence of a plurality of binding straps is particularlyadvantageous. In the region of a binding strap, the wire windings remainpressed against one another. Even if the loops do become somewhatseparated from one another on going away from a strap, the wad does notlose its cohesion because of the presence of the following bindingstrap. For example, it is advantageous for the wad to comprise fourbinding straps spaced apart from one another at intervals of about 90°,or three straps spaced at about 120°.

[0012] In a particularly advantageous disposition, the pad has aplurality of binding straps together with a linking insert which isplaced at the center of the ring and which has the binding straps fixedthereto.

[0013] The linking insert is placed so as to take advantage of theinitially empty center of the wad. It forms a support for the bindingstraps which are connected thereto. It also prevents the hole in the wadcollapsing.

[0014] The pad advantageously also comprises a handle member.

[0015] This enables the user to handle the pad via said handle memberrather than taking hold of the wire windings directly in the hand.

[0016] Advantageously, the handle member is secured to the wad via itscentral region.

[0017] Under such circumstances, the fixing between the handle memberand the wad also takes advantage of the empty center of the wad.

[0018] Thus, advantageously, the handle member comprises two endportions which meet in the center of the ring and which are fixed toeach other, or if present, to the linking insert.

[0019] For example, the two end portions of the handle member may befixed together by snap-fastening or the like, thus avoiding any need touse an adhesive or the like which would run the risk of ceasing to beeffective after the scouring pad has been used a few times.

[0020] The invention will be well understood and its advantages willappear better on reading the following detailed description ofembodiments given as non-limiting examples. The description refers tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic outside view of a first embodiment of thepad in accordance with the invention;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a view analogous to FIG. 1 showing a second embodimentusing a linking insert for the binding straps;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how the linking insert andthe binding strap are assembled together;

[0024]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section view on a plane defined byline IV-IV of FIG. 3;

[0025]FIG. 5 is a view analogous to FIGS. 1 and 2 for another embodimentin which the pad includes a handle member; and

[0026]FIGS. 6 and 7 are two cross-section views in a plane correspondingto plane VI-VI of FIG. 2, showing two variant handle members.

[0027] The scouring pad of FIG. 1 comprises a wad 10 made up of windings12 of looped wire. The loops of the wire cause the windings to catch onewith another and, by a spring effect, they give the wad a cellularstructure. The windings are substantially concentric so that the wad issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring presenting an empty center(throat of the torus).

[0028] The pad has a plurality of binding straps 14 which bind togetherthe wire windings over substantially radial sections of the ringconstituted by the wad. These straps 14 lie substantially on themeridians of the torus formed by the wad and the sections that they holdtogether are defined between the empty center 16 of the wad and itsouter periphery 10A.

[0029] In FIG. 1, four straps 14 are present that are spaced apart atapproximately 90°. It can be seen that the binding effect they have onthe wire windings is very localized and that the wad conserves, overall,an essentially cellular structure. Even the loops close to the bindingstrap serve to space the windings apart from one another whilenevertheless holding them together.

[0030] For example, the wire from which the wad is made is a stainlesssteel wire of very small thickness, lying in the range 0.02 mm to 0.03mm, and of flat section, with the width of the wire being about 0.4 mmto 0.5 mm. The loops may be helical in shape and they may be obtained asdescribed above.

[0031] The binding straps may be made of a plastics material or of anyother material that presents the required ability to withstand wear. Asshown in FIG. 1, the straps need not be connected to one another. Eachstrap is rolled up and its free ends are fixed together, e.g. by beingknotted, welded, or the like.

[0032] In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the pad has a linking insert 18placed in its empty central region 16. The binding straps 20 of FIG. 2are disposed in the same manner as the straps 14 of FIG. 1, but they arealso fixed to the insert 18.

[0033] As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the linking insertpresents substantially axial boreholes 22, i.e. holes that extendsubstantially parallel to the winding axis A of the wire winding formingthe ring that constitutes the wad. The first end 20A of the strap 20 inFIG. 4 is fixed to the insert 18, with this strap then being rolled upand extending radially outwards away from the insert 18 until its secondend 20B is engaged in the borehole 22 and is retained therein. Moreprecisely, the second end 20B has a retaining head 20C which is engagedin the borehole 22 and which is held therein by a retaining zone 22Aformed in the borehole 22, e.g. by a bead. The retaining means 22A and20C thus co-operate by snap-fastening with the head 20C being engaged byforce into the borehole 22 until it has gone past the bead 22A.

[0034] The first end 20A of the strap 20 is fixed to the insert 18 byany appropriate means. By way of example, and as shown in FIG. 4, theinsert 18 presents a borehole 24 for fixing the first end 20A of thestrap 20. This borehole 24 has a shoulder 24A and the first end 20A ofthe strap 20 presents a retaining head which comes into abutment againstthe shoulder.

[0035] To put the strap 20 into place, the wire constituting the strapis engaged through the borehole 24 until its head 20A comes intoabutment against the shoulder. The various straps 20 shown in FIG. 3 areall initially put into place in this manner. Once in this situation, theinsert is placed in the empty center 16 of a wad of scouring wire, andeach strap 20 is placed around a section of the wad until its second end20B engages in a borehole 22. The second end 20B of the strap 20 ispulled until its retaining head is retained by the bead 22A.

[0036] Provision can be made for the second end 20B to present aplurality of retaining heads 20C that are spaced apart from one anotherso as to provide a plurality of retaining positions.

[0037] The end portion of the strap which projects beyond the borehole22 in the insert can be cut off.

[0038] FIGS. 5 to 7 show a scouring pad which further comprises a handlemember. In FIG. 5, there can be seen the wad 10 and two binding straps14. The handle member 26 is placed in such a manner as to occupy anangular sector of the wad. In reality, the wad has four binding straps,and the handle member 26 forms a shell covering the two straps that arenot shown in FIG. 5, i.e. a shell that extends over an angular sector ofabout 90°. This shell thus covers both faces of the wad and the twoinside ends 26A of the shell meet in the empty center of the ring formedby the wad where they are fixed together. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5is compatible with both of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, andthat is why the binding straps are referenced both 14 and 20 in FIG. 5.

[0039]FIG. 6 shows a variant in a section view and there can be seen twobinding straps 20 fixed to a linking insert 18. The outline of the wad10 is represented by a chain-dotted line.

[0040] In FIG. 6, the handle member comprises two shells 28 and 30 whichare disposed on opposite sides of the ring about a plane P extendingsubstantially transversely to the axis A thereof. These two shells arein the form of cones whose vertices 28A and 30A meet in the center ofthe ring. These two shells are then fixed together via their verticeswhich are snap-fastened one in the other, for example. In FIG. 6, thevertices of the shells pass through the linking insert 18. Nevertheless,this variant of the handle member is also compatible with the embodimentshown in FIG. 1 which does not have a linking insert.

[0041] In FIG. 5 as in FIG. 6, the handle member is held by beinggripped between the thumb and the index finger, for example.

[0042]FIG. 7 shows another variant in which the handle member 32comprises a knob 34 disposed on one side of the ring relative to theplane P that extends substantially transversely to its axis A.Specifically, this knob is fixed to the wad by a rod 36 which extendsthrough the central region of the ring and which is retained in thelinking insert 18.

[0043] The handle member 32 may be fixed by snap-fastening, with the rod36 being snap-fastened in the insert 18, for example, or it may presenta simple retaining head 36A which is retained in the insert 18 while theend of the rod remote from said head is snap-fastened inside the knob34.

[0044] The handle members 26, 28, and 30 of FIGS. 5 and 6 could also befixed to the linking insert 18 if such an insert is present.

1./ A scouring pad comprising a wad (10) of looped scouring wire, thepad being characterized in that the wad is constituted by substantiallyconcentric windings of the wire (12) such that said wad (10) issubstantially in the form of a toroidal ring, and in that it has meansfor holding said windings relative to one another, said means comprisingat least one binding strap (14, 20) around a section of the ringoccupying substantially a meridian of the torus formed by the ring. 2/ Apad according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a plurality ofbinding straps (14, 20) disposed around a plurality of sections of thering (10) that are spaced apart at substantially regular intervals. 3/ Apad according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it has aplurality of binding straps (14, 20) and a linking insert (18) which isdisposed in the center (16) of the ring and which has the binding strapsfixed thereto. 4/ A pad according to claim 3, characterized in that thelinking insert (18) presents substantially axial boreholes (20), in thateach binding strap (20) presents a first end (20A) fixed to the linkinginsert (18), is wound around a section of the ring, and presents asecond end (20B) which is engaged in a borehole (22) of the linkinginsert (18) and is retained (22A) therein. 5/ A pad according to claim4, characterized in that the second end (20B) of a binding strap (20)has a retaining head (20C) co-operating with a retaining zone (22A)formed in a borehole (22). 6/ A pad according to any one of claims 1 to5, characterized in that it further includes a handle member (26; 28,30; 32). 7/ A pad according to claim 6, characterized in that the handlemember (26; 28, 30; 32) is secured to the wad via the central region(16) thereof. 8/ A pad according to claim 7, characterized in that thehandle member (26; 28, 30) comprises two end portions (26A; 28A, 30A)meeting at the center (16) of the ring and fixed to each other. 9/ A padaccording to claim 3 and any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in thatthe handle member (26; 28, 30; 32) is fixed to the linking insert (18).10/ A pad according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in thatthe handle member (26; 28, 30; 32) is fixed by snap-fastening. 11/ A padaccording to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the handlemember (26) covers an angular sector of the ring. 12/ A pad according toany one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the handle membercomprises two shells (28, 30) placed on opposite sides of the ring abouta plane (P) extending substantially transversely (A) to said ring. 13/ Apad according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that thehandle member (32) comprises a knob (34) placed on one side of the ringrelative to a plane (P) extending substantially transversely to the axis(A) of said ring. 14/ A pad according to any one of claims 1 to 13,characterized in that the loops of the wire (12) are formed by helicalturns.